With one sacrifice, then, He has made perfect forever those who are purified from sin. HEBREWS 10:14 GNT 

The social media age has planted seeds of comparison in our hearts. When we’re continuously scrolling through the highlight reels of others, it can be nearly impossible not to feel like our lives don’t measure up. Seeds of comparison are aggressive and easily give root to perfectionism. Perfectionism is a greedy weed that overshadows everything good in our lives and chokes out tender shoots of contentment. The only thing that grows in the weed-infested soil of perfectionism is thorns of lack and inferiority. 

Comparison feels like looking in a mirror that spotlights every little detail about us that isn’t perfect. A voice inside our head tells us we’re inadequate. We don’t look good enough. We aren’t doing enough. Who we are is not enough. The clamor of comparison loves to drown out the voice of truth. Like the sound of steadily falling rain on a garden, we need the voice of God’s truth to hush the cacophony of comparison’s lies. 

Do you know what else is beautiful about rain besides the sound of it gently falling? How easy it makes pulling weeds after it loosens the soil. Weeds of perfectionism are hard ones to uproot. Because perfection is aligned so closely to our identity, those weeds tend to sink roots into every fiber of our being. They become entrenched. When God’s truth rains down on us, perfectionism loses its hold. 

God’s truth highlights every way He has made us perfect in Him. He sacrificed His life for ours so that we might be made clean, every imperfection and sin in our hearts washed away. He rains down love on us so contentment can take hold of our hearts and leave no room for comparison. God says we are enough because we are His, and He loves us unconditionally. What could be more perfect than that? 

God, thank You for the new identity You have given me in Jesus. Help me see myself as You see me: perfect and completely loved. 

This is an excerpt from Playing in the Dirt: 90 Devotions for Crazy Plant Ladies – a new devotional journal now available for pre-order on DaySpring.com. Shop all books, journals, and devotions from DaySpring here.